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Used
in Biotechnical Research: Why a Source Shouldn't Share in the Profits,
64 Notre Dame L.Rev.
628, 644 (1989) (National Organ Transplant Act's ban on the sale of
"organs" should be extended to cover "tissues" as well). In favor of permitting
payment to encourage organ donation are Andrews, My Body, My Property,
Hastings Center Rep., Oct. 1986, at 28; Cohen, Increasing the Supply of
Transplant Organs: The Virtues of a Futures Market, 58 Geo.Wash.L.Rev.
1, 2 (1989); Note, The Sale of Human Body Parts, 72 Mich.L.Rev. 1182,
1264 (1974) [hereinafter Note, Sale of Human Body Parts] (suggesting a
market in organs as a preferable alternative to restricting consent as
a means of increasing the supply of organs for transplant).
Taking a mixed view are J. Swerdlow, supra note 9, at 20 (finding no convincing
evidence to support allowing sales but suggesting experiments to test
the efficiency of a limited payment scheme); Dukeminier, supra note 2,
at 865-66 (generally opposing widespread compensation for organs but advocating
routine autopsy and presumed consent as a means of increasing organ supply);
Silver, supra note 2, at 703 ("It is not here contended that an organ
market is inherently bad, only that, in comparison with an organ draft,
it is an inferior solution . . . .").
The implications of a ban on organ sales as they relate to the existence
of property rights will be discussed further in Part II, infra notes 73-75,
109-14 and accompanying text.
[FN30]. UAGA(1968) § 7(d) ("The provisions of this Act are subject to
the laws of this state prescribing powers and duties with respect to autopsies.").
These autopsy laws generally authorized the coroner or state medical examiner
to perform an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death from an accident
or criminal activity or occurring under suspicious circumstances. See,
e.g., Grad v. Kaasa, 68 N.C.App. 128, 131, 314 S.E.2d 755, 758 (1984)
(deaths from "homicide, suicide, trauma, accident, disaster, violence,
unknown, unnatural or suspicious circumstances, in police custody, jail
or prison, by poison or suspected poisoning, suggesting possible public
health hazard, during surgical or anesthetic procedures, sudden deaths
not reasonably related to previous known diseases and deaths without medical
attendance" would justify an autopsy if "both advisable and in the public
interest"); Md. Health-Gen. Code Ann. §§ 5-309 to -310 (Supp.1989)
(deaths occurring: by violence; by suicide; by casualty; suddenly; or
in any suspicious or unusual manner. Autopsy at the medical examiner's
discretion in such cases.).
[FN31]. See Dukeminier, supra note 2, at 814-15; Note, The Organ Supply
Dilemma: Acute Responses to a Chronic Shortage, 20 Colum.J.L. & Soc.Probs.
363, 365-66; see also J. Swerdlow, supra note 9, at 11-15 (tracing the
rising success in transplants and the current shortages of virtually all
transplantable body parts); Hansmann, The Economics and Ethics of Markets
for Human Organs, in Organ Transplant Policy: Issues and Prospects 57
(1989) ( "Recent advances in the technology for transplanting human organs
have led to a large increase in the demand for suitable organs. As a consequence,
demand now considerably exceeds supply.").
[FN32]. Dukeminier, supra note 2, at 825-31.
[FN33]. See Sadler, Sadler & Stason, supra note 19.
[FN34]. "Coroner" should be read to include both coroners and medical
examiners.
[FN35]. State laws falling generally into the presumed consent category
include Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-320 (1987) (pituitary gland); Cal.
Gov't Code §§ 27491.46-.47 (West 1988) (pituitary & corneas);
Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30-10-621 (1986) (pituitary); Conn.Gen.Stat.Ann.
§ 19a-281 (West 1986) (pituitary & corneas); Del. Code Ann.
tit. 29, § 4712 (Supp.1988) (corneas); Fla.Stat.Ann. § 732.9185
(West Supp.1989) (corneas); Ga. Code Ann. § 31-23-6 (1985)
(eyes and corneas); Ky.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 311.187 (Michie Supp.1988)
(corneas); Md.Est. & Trusts Code Ann. § 4-509.1 (Supp.1989)
(corneas); Mich.Comp.Laws Ann. § 333.10202 (1989) (corneas); Mo.Ann.Stat.
§ 58.770 (Vernon 1989) (pituitary); N.C.Gen.Stat. § 130A- 391 (1989)
(corneas); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2108.60 (Baldwin 1987) (corneas);
Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 63, § 944.1 (West Supp.1990) (pituitary); Tenn.
Code Ann. § 68-30-204 (Supp.1989) (corneas); Tex. Health &
Safety Code Ann. § 693.012 (Vernon pamphlet 1990) (corneas); W.Va.
Code § 16-19-3a (1985) (corneas). The pituitary removal statutes may
have less significance in the future as synthetic versions of human growth
hormone become available. See Schmeck, Synthetic Growth Hormone Cleared,
N.Y. Times, Oct. 19, 1985, at 7, col. 1. The past contamination of some
batches of natural hormone with the virus responsible for Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease should provide additional incentive for a transition away from
human sources. See id.
With minor variations the statutes follow the pattern described in the
text. The Michigan statute with respect to the removal of corneas is illustrative:
In any case in which an autopsy is to be done by a county medical examiner
. . . the cornea of the deceased person may be removed . . . only under
the following circumstances:
(a) An autopsy has already been authorized by the county medical examiner.
(b) The county medical examiner does not have knowledge of an objection
by the next of kin of the decedent to the removal of the cornea.
(c) The removal of the cornea will not interfere with the course of any
subsequent investigation or autopsy or alter post-mortem facial appearance.
Mich.Comp. Laws Ann. § 333.10202 (Supp.1989)
Looking at the statute literally the medical examiner may remove the cornea
even though she has knowledge of the decedent's objection. Taken in the
context of the law's earlier donation provisions, however, one would suspect
that this was an oversight. Courts would most likely construe this to
prevent removal of the corneas if there is knowledge of objection by either
the decedent or the next of kin.
The Michigan Attorney General has opined that this law requires substantial
efforts to obtain consent prior to removal. Op. Att'y Gen. 6369 (1986).
The one Michigan court to confront the issue, however, has read the statute
as it is written. Tillman v. Detroit Receiving Hosp., 360 N.W.2d 275,
278 (Mich.Ct.App. 1984).
[FN36]. Such a requirement can be characterized as an "opt-out"
provision, setting a presumption of consent under certain conditions but
allowing the deceased or the next of kin to refuse donation by making
their objection known.
[FN37]. See, e.g., Mich.Comp. Laws Ann. § 333.1203 (Supp.1989).
While most laws adopted in the United States limited the presumed consent
approach to bodies under the authority of the coroner, other countries
have taken a more comprehensive approach and extend presumed consent to
all bodies. See, e.g., J. Swerdlow, supra note 9, at 19 ("More than a
dozen countries . . . have adopted 'presumed-consent' laws, under which
everyone is designated a donor unless they register their refusal.")
[FN38]. Cal. Gov't Code § 27491.45(a) (West 1988) (coroner
may retain tissues removed at autopsy for the advancement of science);
Haw.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 841-14 (1988) (coroner may retain tissues removed
at autopsy for science, teaching, or therapy; provision is independent
of Hawaii's UAGA and purports to override conflicting laws); Ohio Rev.
Code Ann. § 2108.53 (Baldwin 1987)(pituitary may be removed by coroner
regardless of consent except where it is already the object of an anatomical
gift or an objection is based upon the tenets of a well-recognized religion);
Laws of P.R.Ann.tit. 18, § 731g (1989)(medical examiner may donate any
part; no mention of consent at all); Vt.Stat.Ann.titl. 18, § 150 (Supp.1989)(pituitary
may be removed by medical examiner regardless of consent except where
objection is based on religious beliefs).
[FN39]. See, e.g., UAGA(1987) § 4. The UAGA(1987) applies to all
organs, not just corneas. Section 4(a) permits such removal only for the
purposes of transplant or therapy and where the coroner has received a
request for the part from an appropriate recipient. Section 4(a)(2) adds
the further requirement that the official make "a reasonable effort, taking
into account the useful life of the part, to locate and examine the decedent's
medical records" and to inform the appropriate next of kin so that they
may make their desires on the matter known. Where the coroner has knowledge
of an objection to the removal of a part, that objection takes priority
and no removal is permitted.
State laws in this group include Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. §§ 36-851 to
-852 (1986 & Supp.1989)(corneas; diligent efforts); Ark.Stat.Ann.
§ 20-17-604 (Supp.1989)(all parts); Cal. Health & Safety Code
§ 7151.5 (West Supp.1990)(all organs and pacemakers); Colo.Rev.Stat.
§ 30-10-620 (1986)(corneas); Haw.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 327-4 (1988)(all
parts); Idaho Code § 39-3405 (Supp.1989)(all parts); Ill.Ann.Stat.ch.
110 1/2, ¶¶ 351-354 (Smith-Hurd Supp.1989)(corneas); La.Rev.Stat.Ann.
§§ 17:2354.1-3, 33:1565 (West 1982, 1988 & Supp.1989)(eyes,
kidneys, heart, lungs, liver, soft tissue, and bone; good faith efforts);
Md.Est. & Trusts Code Ann. § 4- 509 (Supp.1989)(internal organs);
Mass.Ann. Laws ch. 113, § 14 (Law.Co- op.Supp.1989)(corneas; good
faith efforts); Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-71 (Supp.1989)(all parts);
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-17-215 (1989)(all parts); N.D.Cent. Code
§ 23-06.2-04 (Supp.1989)(all parts); R.I. Gen. Laws § 23- 18.6-4
(1989)(all parts); Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 693.001-.003
(Vernon pamphlet 1990)(nonvisceral organs); Utah Code Ann. § 26-4-23
(1989)(all parts); Wash.Rev. Code Ann. § 68.50.280 (Supp.1989)(corneas).
The Arkansas and California laws are actually variants of this category
in that they apply not just to coroners but to hospitals in general. This
is closer to the model used in other countries and avoids the issue of
creating an exception that applies exclusively to the government. The
implications of this variation on the property issue, as well as on the
constitutional questions, are discussed infra notes 65 & 94.
[FN40]. It has been suggested that the change is not particularly
significant since a similar rule could be implied from the original structure
of the UAGA(1968). See Quay, Utilizing the Bodies of the Dead, 28 St.
Louis U.L.J. 889, 894-95 (1984)(reversion of decision-making authority
to any person authorized to dispose of the body whenever relatives in
a prior category are unavailable establishes an unwarranted presumption
of consent).
Professor Quay actually goes one step further and argues that allowing
the next of kin to donate in the absence of knowledge of an objection
by decedent is an inappropriate presumption of consent and violates the
decedent's right to a decent burial. Id. at 920.
[FN41]. See, e.g., Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 110 1/2, ¶¶ 751-756 (Smith-Hurd
Supp.1989). These "required request" provisions were intended to overcome
the reluctance of many doctors to ask the next of kin for consent, even
when they are available, for fear of sounding crass and insensitive. See
note, supra note 31, at 369-70.
[FN42]. The laws falling into this final category include Ala.
Code §§ 22-19-40 to -44 (1984 & Supp.1989); Alaska Stat. §§
13.50.010-.090 (1985); D.C. Code Ann. § 2-1605 (1988); Ind. Code
Ann. §§ 29-2-16-1 to - 10 (Burns Supp.1989); Iowa Code Ann. §§
142A.1-.8 (1989); Kan.Stat.Ann. §§ 65-3209 to -3218 (1985 &
Supp.1987); Me.Rev.Stat.Ann.tit. 22, §§ 2901-2910 (1980 & Supp.1989);
Minn.Stat.Ann. §§ 525.921-.94 (West 1975 & Supp.1990); Neb.Rev.Stat.
§ 71-480 to -4813 (1986); Nev.Rev.Stat.Ann. §§ 451.500-.590 (Michie 1986
& Supp.1989); N.H.Rev.Stat.Ann. §§ 291-A:1-9 (1987 & Supp.1989);
N.J.Stat.Ann. §§ 26:6-57 to -65 (West 1987 & Supp.1989); N.M.Stat.Ann.
§§ 24-6-1 to - 11 (1986 & Supp.1989); N.Y.Pub. Health Law § 4300-08
(McKinney 1985 & Supp.1990); Or.Rev.Stat. §§ 97.250-.300 (1989);
20. Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. §§ 8601-08 (Purdon 1975 & Supp.1989); S.C.
Code Ann. §§ 44-43-310 to -400 (Law Co-op. 1985 & Supp.1989);
S.D. Codified Laws Ann. §§ 34-26-20 to -41 (1986); Va. Code
Ann. §§ 32.1-289 to -297.1 (1985 & Supp.1989); Wis.Stat.Ann.
§ 157.06 (West 1989); Wyo.Stat. § 35- 5.101 to -112 (1988). In fact,
most state laws fall into this category with regard to organs or tissues
other than those specifically covered by presumed consent or reasonable
efforts provisions.
[FN43]. See, e.g., D.C. Code Ann. § 2-1509 (1988); see also Pub.L.
No. 99- 509, § 9318, 100 Stat. 2009 (1986)(codified at 42 U.S.C. §
1320b-8 (West Supp.1989)(requiring hospitals, in order to be eligible
for Medicaid/Medicare, to establish a protocol designed to make families
aware of their option to donate).
[FN44]. State v. Powell, 497 So.2d 1188 (Fla. 1986), cert.
denied, 481 U.S. 1059 (1987); Georgia Lions Eye Bank v. Lavant,
255 Ga. 60, 335 S.E.2d 127 (1985); Tillman v. Detroit Receiving
Hosp., 360 N.W.2d 275 (Mich.Ct.App. 1984).
[FN45]. 497 So.2d 1188 (Fla. 1986), cert. denied, 481
U.S. 1059 (1987).
[FN46]. Id. at 1190.
[FN47]. The court reviewed the purposes of the presumed consent
law and declared it to be a reasonable means of achieving a "permissible
legislative objective of providing sight to many of Florida's blind citizens."
Id. at 1191. The court also noted that the intrusion of removing
the decedent's corneas, by comparison to the autopsy, was "infinitesimally
small." Id.
While this latter observation was not relied upon by the court in reaching
its decision, it is certain to have colored the court's assessment of
the case. Such concerns, though relevant in the subsequent balancing of
interests, should not be used to determine the threshold issue of whether
a property interest initially exists. The Constitution does not distinguish
between the law student's old Datsun and the lawyer's new Porsche at such
an early stage. See Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp., 458
U.S. 419, 436-37 (1982) ( "constitutional protection for the rights
of private property cannot be made to depend on the size of the area permanently
occupied").
[FN48]. 497 So. 2d at 1191-92. The court cited numerous
authorities for the proposition that the next of kin have only a limited
right to possess for the purpose of burial as opposed to a property right.
Noting a number of differences between the rights relative to a dead body
and the rights normally associated with more fungible and commercial forms
of property, the next of kin were found to have a mere right to bring
an action in tort, not a property right. Id. at 1192. This is a
rather curious way of avoiding the question since the right to bring an
action in tort tells nothing of the nature of the underlying interest
that has been violated. Compare Prosser & Keeton on The law of Torts
§ 15 (W. Keeton 5th ed. 1984) (conversion and trespass) with id. § 12
(infliction of mental distress).
[FN49]. 497 So. 2d at 1193. In closing, the majority noted
that an issue of this complexity involving the balancing of interests
ought to be handled by the legislature. Id. at 1194.
[FN50]. Id. at 1195 (Shaw, J., dissenting) ("[S]ince time
immemorial it has been the duty and the right of the next of kin to take
control, possession, and custody of the body and remains of a deceased
family member . . . . [Such common law rights should not] be narrowly
construed.").
[FN51]. In Georgia Lions Eye Bank v. Lavant, 255 Ga. 60, 335
S.E.2d 127 (1985), the parents of an infant who had died of Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome sued the eye bank that had been authorized by the
coroner to remove corneal tissue during an autopsy. The lower court held
in favor of the parents, finding that the statute authorizing removal
was "violative of due process in that it deprives a person of a property
right in the corpse of his next-of-kin, and fails to provide notice and
an opportunity to object." Id. at 60, 335 S.E.2d at 128. The Georgia
Supreme Court reversed, holding that there was no "constitutionally protected
right in a decedent's body." Id. at 61, 355 S.E.2d at 128. The
court held that while at common law there existed a quasi- property right
in a dead body, this right was not of constitutional significance. Id.
In Tillman v. Detroit Receiving Hosp., 360 N.W.2d 275 (Mich. Ct. App.
1984), the complaint alleged that the statute authorizing removal
of corneal tissue without consent was an unconstitutional invasion of
the right of privacy. While Michigan law recognized a common law right
of the next of kin to bury the deceased without mutilation, such a right
was not considered to be of constitutional dimension. Id. at 277.
The court stated that whatever constitutional right of privacy may exist
with respect to the integrity of the body, such a right is "a personal
one [that] ends with the death of the person to whom it is of value."
Id. The Court also stated in dicta that there was no property right in
a dead body, though this issue does not appear to have been raised below
or on appeal. Id. (citing Deeg v. Detroit, 345 Mich. 371, 375, 76 N.W.2d
16, 19 (1956)).
[FN52]. If the government is permitted to make such exceptions
to otherwise general rules, then virtually no action could be characterized
as abrogating a property right. For example, the government could merely
pass a law that ownership rights in land exist except as against the government,
thus placing any future appropriation beyond the reach of the Constitution.
When evaluating a governmental interference with property rights, those
rights must necessarily be determined from an external vantage point.
See infra note 94.
[FN53]. 249 Cal. Rptr. 494 (Ct. App. 1988).
[FN54]. This form of therapy is standard for patients with hairy
cell leukemia as it helps normalize the white blood cell count and alleviate
some of the symptoms, though it does not cure the disease. Stone, Cells
for Sale, Discover, Aug., 1988, at 34.
[FN55]. "'The foundation for the action of conversion . . . rests
upon the unwarranted interference by defendant with the dominion over
the property of the plaintiff from which injury to the latter results."'
Moore, 249 Cal. Rptr. at 503 (emphasis deleted) (quoting Poggi
v. Scott, 167 Cal. 372, 375, 139 P. 815, 816 (1914)). See generally
Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts, supra note 48, § 15 (discussing
the "highly technical" rules of conversion).
[FN56]. 249 Cal. Rptr. at 503 ("plaintiff's allegation of
a property right in his own tissue is sufficient as a matter of law").
The case was then remanded for trial. The ruling is currently on appeal
to the California Supreme Court.
[FN57]. Id. at 504.
[FN58]. Id. at 505. One could interpret the court's statement
here to suggest that there is a property right in the living body only.
Given the court's emphasis on the public health concerns as the factor
distinguishing dead bodies, however, there is no reason why this concern
would deny the existence of a post-mortem property interest.
[FN59]. Id. Among the cases cited include Venner v. State, 30
Md.App. 599, 354 A.2d 483 (Ct.Spec.App. 1976), aff'd, 279 Md. 47,
367 A.2d 949, cert. denied, 431 U.S. 932 (1977), involving
an illegal police seizure of narcotics-filled balloons found in the defendant's
feces. The Maryland court acknowledged that "[i]t is not unknown for a
person to assert a continuing right of ownership, dominion, or control,
for good reason or for no reason, over such things as excrement, fluid
waste, secretions, hair, fingernails, toenails, blood, and organs or other
[separated] parts of the body." Id. at 626, 354 A.2d at 498 (footnote
omitted). The Moore court also analogized to the requirement of consent
for medical treatment, citing Justice (then Judge) Cardozo's famous epigram
that "[e]very human being of adult years and sound mind has a right to
determine what shall be done with his own body." 249 Cal. Rptr. at
505 (quoting Schloendorff v. Society of the N.Y. Hosp., 211 N.Y.
125, 129, 105 N.E. 92, 93 (1914)). Other examples cited by the court
included the "quasi property right" over a dead body recognized in the
next of kin, the right to control disposition of the remains found in
California's version of the UAGA, the defendant's own ironic claim of
a property interest in the cells, and finally the property right in an
individual's name, face and likeness. 249 Cal. Rptr. at 505-08.
[FN60]. 249 Cal. Rptr. at 533-34 (George, J., dissenting).
[FN61]. Id. at 535.
[FN62]. C. Porter, My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1938).
[FN63]. Property is protected against both deprivation without
due process and taking for public use without just compensation. Liberty
only receives due process protection. U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV.
For a suggestion that too much is made of this difference, see Lynch v.
Household Fin. Corp., 405 U.S. 538, 552 (1972) (Stewart, J.) ("[T]he dichotomy
between personal liberties and property rights is a false one. Property
does not have rights. People have rights. The right to enjoy property
without unlawful deprivation, no less than the right to speak or the right
to travel, is in truth a 'personal' right . . . .").
[FN64]. By taking a broad view of what is related to the body,
a number of rights may be included that may eventually fall outside the
category of "property rights." At this stage, however, it is better to
be overinclusive because the eventual differentiation of liberty rights
from property rights will serve to clarify those two categories as they
relate to the body.
[FN65]. Government action which alters or abolishes a common-law
right does not necessarily violate the fifth or fourteenth amendment since
there is generally no property right in a common-law rule itself. See
Munn v. Illinois, 94 U.S. 113, 134 (1876). But see Hodel v.
Irving, 481 U.S. 704, 716-17 (1987) (virtual total abolition of right
to pass property through descent and devise held a taking). In contrast,
government action which conflicts with a generally recognized right, for
example taking possession of a strip of private property in order to build
a highway, is typically subject to fifth amendment scrutiny. It therefore
is important to determine whether it is the general rule of conduct that
has been changed or merely an exception created exempting the government
from an otherwise applicable rule. A logical approach would have the existence
of a right determined by reference to third parties, not the government,
since it is the propriety of the government's action that is being evaluated
in the first place.
[FN66]. See, e.g., Spiegel v. Evergreen Cemetery Co., 117 N.J.L.
90, 93, 186 A. 585, 586 (1936) ("[I]t is now the prevailing rule .
. . that the right to bury the dead and preserve the remains is a quasi
right in property . . . ."); In re Johnson, 94 N.M. 491, 494, 612 P.2d
1302, 1305 (1980) (the state recognizes "a quasi-property right in
a dead body which vests in the nearest relative of the deceased"); see
also Note, supra note 16, at 225-27 (surveying common law's treatment
of property rights in dead bodies).
The common-law position in some states makes the rights of the next of
kin subservient to any disposition directed by the decedent prior to death.
See, e.g., In re Estate of Moyer, 577 P.2d 108, 110 (Utah 1978)
(person's disposition of his body is "binding after his death, so long
as that is done within the limits of reason and decency").
[FN67]. See, e.g., Scarpaci v. Milwaukee County, 96 Wis. 2d
663, 672, 292 N.W.2d 816, 820 (1980) (though arguing that this is
a personal, and not a property, right); Grad v. Kaasa, 68 N.C.App.
128, 130, 314 S.E.2d 755, 758 (cause of action for "wrongful autopsy"
arising from quasi-property right of next of kin), rev'd on other grounds,
312 N.C. 310, 321 S.E.2d 888 (1984).
[FN68]. See infra note 106.
[FN69]. See, e.g., Dougherty v. Mercantile-Safe Deposit &
Trust Co., 282 Md. 617, 620, 387 A.2d 244, 246 (1978).
[FN70]. See, e.g., Estate of Moyer, 577 P.2d at 110 ("laws
relating to wills and the descent of property were not intended to relate
to the body of a deceased").
[FN71]. See, e.g., UAGA (1987) § 2 (authorizing individuals to
direct the post-mortem disposition of their bodies).
[FN72]. Estate of Moyer, 577 P.2d at 110 n.4 ("That our
legislature has recognized that a person has property rights in his body
and can so dispose of his organs, see Anatomical Gift Act, U.C.A. 1953,
Sec. 26-26-1 et seq."). The Utah Anatomical Gift Act is currently
codified at Utah Code Ann. §§ 26- 28-1 to -8 (1989 & Supp.1989).
[FN73]. Pub.L. No. 98-507, Title III, § 301, 98 Stat. 2346 (1984)
(codified at 42 U.S.C. § 274e (Supp.V. 1987)) ("unlawful for any
person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human
organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation"). Violation
carries a maximum penalty of five years and a $50,000 fine. 42 U.S.C.
§ 247e.
This statute, as well as its state law counterparts, infra note 74, apply
equally to organs derived from live or dead bodies.
[FN74]. See, e.g., Mich.Comp. Laws Ann. § 333.10204 (West
1985); N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 4307 (McKinney 1985); Va. Code
Ann. § 32.1-289.1 (1985); see also Note, Regulating the Sale of
Human Organs, 71 Va.L.Rev. 1015, 1022- 29 (1985) (analyzing federal
and state restrictions on sale of organs for transplant).
[FN75]. One commentary, for example, appears to assume that the
ban covers all sales of human organs. Note, supra note 29, at 644 ("The
Act currently defines 'human organ' and then prohibits the sale of anything
that has been included within that definition."). By their terms, however,
the statutes in question forbid only sales for transplantation and therapy.
In light of the rather clear authorization for donation for research and
education, one could conclude that sales for these non-therapeutic purposes
are permitted. Scientists in practice have been buying and selling human
tissues for research apparently without interference from these statutes.
See Nat'l Inst. Gen. Medical Science, 1988/1989 Catalog of Cell Lines,
Oct. 1988, at iii, 3 ($60 per flask of cells; options include cells from
skin and lung biopsies). Some state laws are more restrictive than the
federal law, however. See, e.g., Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-289.1 (1984)
(banning sale of body parts "for any reason").
[FN76]. See, e.g., Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-289.1 (1985) (exempting
hair, blood and other self-replicating body fluids from a general prohibition
on organ sales).
While many jurisdictions have classified the transfer of blood or other
human tissue as a service rather than a sale, this position does not conflict
with the notion that human tissue is property. In the leading case on
the distinction between sale and service, Perlmutter v. Beth David
Hosp., 308 N.Y. 100, 123 N.E.2d 792 (1954), Judge Fuld drew an analogy
to "a contract to paint a picture that has been held to be a contract
for work, labor and services rather than a sale, although the title to
the canvas is actually transferred to the customer." Id. at 105, 123
N.E.2d at 794 (citations omitted). This is because a service was the
predominant element in the transaction, and would be true even if a specific
portion of the price were allocated to the physical materials.
The underlying motivation of the service characterization in Perlmutter,
to avoid the application of strict product liability if blood transfers
were treated as sales, id. at 106-07, 123 N.E.2d at 795, also weighs
against reading this rule as a denial that blood is property.
[FN77]. See, e.g., Matthews, supra note 5, at 223-25 (discussing
English cases upholding convictions for theft of blood, urine and hair).
[FN78]. As to the value of a lock of hair, see Dickens, The Control
of Living Body Materials, 27 U. Toronto L.J. 142, 163 & n.110 (1977)
("A lock of the poet Byron's hair was sold in 1970 for <<PoundsSterling>>
320 (about $750).").
[FN79]. The hair and jawbone examples do involve situations where
the original owner is dead. An interesting situation would arise where
a brain dead person is still on a cardiopulmonary support system and a
researcher sought to purchase some bodily fluid of the deceased. Cf. La
Puma, Discovery & Disquiet: Research on the Brain Dead, 109 Ann. Internal
Med. 606 (1988) (raising ethical concerns about proper procedures when
experimenting on the brain dead).
[FN80]. 249 Cal.Rptr. 494 (Cal.Ct.App. 1988); see supra
notes 53-61 and accompanying text.
[FN81]. Although Moore involved a living body, it is still analogous.
A cadaver is merely a physical object that was once closely intertwined
with a conscious entity (person). The same is true of a severed body part.
That both are biological material that was once part of a "person" should
make the rights in each roughly equivalent. The similarity becomes clearer
when thinking in terms of smaller parts of a cadaver, or larger parts
severed from a live body (i.e., both legs severed in an accident). See
Browning v. Norton-Children's Hosp., 504 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1974)
(amputated leg incinerated rather than buried).
What distinguishes these two cases from the case of rights relative to
an intact live body is the severed nexus between the physical tissue and
the person. This distinction is given further treatment at infra notes
123-28 and accompanying text.
[FN82]. While this Note is predominately concerned with rights
relative to dead bodies, there is necessarily some overlap with rights
relative to living bodies. Since property rights are viewed as surviving
the death of their owner, a corollary to this seems to be that any such
rights in a dead body also exist prior to death, though perhaps in a somewhat
modified form. The interplay between rights in a live body and rights
in a dead one will be explored further infra notes 123-28 and accompanying
text.
[FN83]. U.S. Const. amend. XIII ("except as a punishment
for crime").
[FN84]. See Model Penal Code § 212.2 (1962) (felonious restraint);
id. § 212.3 (false imprisonment); Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 35-42
(1964) (false imprisonment); see also Commonwealth v. Hughes, 399 A.2d
694 (Pa.Super.Ct. 1979) (conviction for kidnapping); U.S. Const.
amend. IV (seizure).
Whether false imprisonment is truly concerned with possession of the body
per se is an open question, however, given the role that the consciousness
of the victim often plays in proving the tort. Compare Parvi v. City
of Kingston, 41 N.Y.2d 553, 556-57, 362 N.E.2d 960, 963, 394 N.Y.S.2d
161, 163 (1977) ( "false imprisonment, as a dignitary tort, is not
suffered unless its victim knows of the dignitary invasion") and Restatement
(Second) of Torts § 42 (1964) (same) with Prosser, False Imprisonment:
Consciousness of Confinement, 55 Colum.L.Rev. 847, 850 (1955) (collecting
cases and arguing that "a tort of real gravity has occurred" where persons
of diminished capacity for awareness are imprisoned without consciously
knowing it).
[FN85]. E. Farnsworth, Contracts 836 (1982) (reluctance to require
specific performance of personal service contracts based in part on the
"undersireability, in some instances of imposing what might seem like
involuntary servitude").
While the right not to be prevented from engaging in some form of gainful
employment (though not in any specific job) is nowhere explicitly recognized
in the Constitution, it seems that any attempt to forbid a person from
all employment would run afoul of the due process or equal protection
clause. Even under a rational basis standard it is unlikely that such
a sweeping limitation on a person's ability to work would be sustained.
In this sense, the permissible economic restrictions on employment seem
to parallel the permissible range of regulation of property where a complete
restriction on use would constitute a taking even though a partial, but
economically substantial, restriction is permissible. See Penn Cent.Transp.Co.
v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978).
[FN86]. See Schloendorff v. Society of N.Y. Hosp., 211 N.Y.
125, 129-30, 105 N.E. 92, 93 (1914); Model Penal Code § 211.1(1)(a)
(1962) (assault includes bodily injury to another); Restatement (Second)
of Torts § 13 (1964) (harmful contact); id. § 18 (offensive contact);
see also Model Penal Code § 213.1 (rape); id. § 213.4 (sexual assault).
But cf. Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel, Inc., 424 S.W.2d 627 (Tex.
1967) (action for battery sustained for plate snatched from person's
hand).
[FN87]. See, e.g., Ga. Code Ann. § 16-6-9 (1988) (prostitution;
id. § 16- 6-2 (sodomy).
[FN88]. See, e.g., Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)
(upholding compulsory smallpox vaccination); In re A.C., 533 A.2d 611
(D.C. 1987) (upholding a forced caesarean), reh'g granted en banc,
539 A.2d 203 (D.C. 1988); L. Tribe, American Constitutional Law
§ 15-10 (2d ed. 1988) ("Government Control Over the Body: Decisions About
Birth and Babies").
[FN89]. 408 U.S. 564 (1972).
[FN90]. Id. at 577.
[FN91]. See Monaghan, Of "Liberty" and "Property", 62 Cornell L.Rev.
405, 435 (1977) ("The difference between the existence of an interest--a
matter of state law--and its significance--a matter of federal law--is
firmly established in other areas of law."). Property can also arise from
other sources external to the Constitution, such as federal statutory
law. See, e.g., Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 332 (1976) (federal
statutory right to social security disability benefits is a property interest
under due process clause).
[FN92]. Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970) (welfare
benefits constitute property requiring a hearing prior to termination).
[FN93]. Mathews, 424 U.S. at 332.
[FN94]. Monaghan, supra note 91, at 440, illustrates this with
the example of a state motor vehicle statute that "invested automobiles
with all the attributes of property as that term is generally understood"
but provided that those rights would be ineffective as against the state
and subject to confiscation. While not "property" according to state law,
Monaghan concludes that "surely the Supreme Court . . . would conclude
that the owner's interest had sufficient attributes of 'property' at least
to implicate the due process clause." Id.
That human body parts are in a somewhat analogous position, being protected
against all except the government, is demonstrated supra notes 28, 34-37,
and accompanying text.
[FN95]. See, e.g., Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co., 455 U.S. 422,
430 (1982) ("The hallmark of property . . . is an individual entitlement
grounded in state law, which cannot be removed except 'for cause.' Once
that characteristic is found, the types of interests protected as 'property'
are varied . . . ." (citations omitted)); Memphis Light, Gas &
Water Div. v. Craft, 436 U.S. 1, 9-12 (1978) (property interest in
continuation of utility service based on state decisional law permitting
termination only for cause); Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 86-87
(1972) (property interest in right to possess goods purchased under
conditional sales contract where title still remained with seller). But
see, e.g., Leis v. Flynt, 439 U.S. 438 (1979) (per curiam) (right
of an out-of-state lawyer to appear pro hac vice in state court is not
a property interest protected by the due process clause); Bishop v.
Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 343-47 (1976) (no property interest in employment,
notwithstanding classification as "permanent employee").
Occasionally the Court will protect an interest without pinning a label
on it. See Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, 539 (1971) ("Suspension
of issued [driver's] licenses thus involves state action that adjudicates
important interests of the licensees [thereby implicating the due process
clause].").
[FN96]. Note the protection of government entitlements that are
commonly thought of as the "new property." See L. Tribe, supra note 88,
at 685-86.
[FN97]. This approach is no more than an application of the common-law
method to a broader set of "precedents." In the application of this method
hopefully some insights will be generated as to what underlying characteristics
define this broader category of property.
[FN98]. 63A Am. Jur. 2d Property § 1 (1984) ("As a matter of legal
definition, 'property' refers not to a particular material object but
to the right and interest or domination rightfully obtained over such
object . . . .").
[FN99]. See Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co., 467 U.S. 986, 1003
(1984) (implicitly accepting bundle of rights theory of property);
Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp., 458 U.S. 419, 435 (1982)
("Physical occupation of another's property . . . chops through the bundle,
taking a slice of every strand"); see also Matthews, supra note 5, at
195 ("If, on the other hand, 'property' in those contexts [the Theft Act
and elsewhere in legal literature] refers to legal rights in relation
to particular physical matter, then we must decide whether the legal rights
need amount to full ownership in the commercial sense (when human tissue
will not be 'property'), or whether a bundle of legal rights affecting
human tissue and amounting to anything less than full ownership in the
commercial sense will do.").
[FN100]. See Note, supra note 16, at 218; see also Radin, The
Liberal Conception of Property: Cross Currents in the Jurisprudence of
Takings, 88 Colum.L.Rev. 1667, 1667 (1988) ("classical liberal conception
of property embraces a number of broad aspects or indicia, often condensed
to three: the exclusive rights to possession, use, and disposition").
[FN101]. The most obvious means of subdivision would be along the
time axis, as with leases.
[FN102]. Radin, supra note 100, at 1676.
[FN103]. See R. Epstein, Takings: Private Property and the Power
of Eminent Domain 35-104 (1985) (prima facie takings include both partial
restrictions and total confiscations of property).
[FN104]. Cf. B. Ackerman, Private Property and the Constitution
1-5 (1977) (ordinary observer approach contrasted with scientific policymaker
approach).
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